Setting up a harvester for digging seed

Need to determine the optimum settings for the rollers

Seed harvest takes place throughout July, and is a really key time. This is effectively the beginning of the following season.

The seed crops are monitored during growth, and have the leaves cut off before lifting so that the potatoes set their skins.

When it comes to digging, a decision needs to be made when setting up the harvesters to determine what percentage is bagged for tipping in sheds and what will pass through the rollers.

The rollers on each harvester can be moved closer together or further apart.

At the end of last week all of the main team involved got together to decide what the optimum setting should be for the start of this year's harvest.

Different rows were dug at different settings, and each time the potatoes were bagged off on the harvester.

The potatoes that passed through the rollers were also collected from the bottom hopper.

All of the sacks were then taken back to one of the main seed sheds and tipped out to make a proper assessment of the number of different grades collected at each setting.

And then the debate ensued... before a decision was made!